Newest Tech Center Explores Advances in Remanufacturing

Cummins’ newest technical center in San Luis Potosi, Mexico will be the company's first focused on remanufacturing.

CUMMINS HAS OPENED ITS FIRST TECHNICAL CENTER FOCUSED ON RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT IN REMANUFACTURING, A KEY COMPONENT OF THE COMPANY’S ENVIRONMENTAL SUSTAINABILITY STRATEGY.

The new center is adjacent to the company’s campus in San Luis Potosi, Mexico, which also includes a remanufacturing plant.

“Our products work hard, and over the course of their service life may undergo wear, corrosion or other damage that requires correction during remanufacturing,” said Jennifer Rumsey, Vice President and Chief Technical Officer at Cummins. “We have made strategic investments in analysis-led design and other tools to advance our capability to recondition and remanufacture parts for the aftermarket.

“Remanufacturing returns Cummins products to same-as-new performance, and is a key part of Cummins’ Environmental Sustainability strategy and supporting our customers over the life of our products,” she added.

In addition to providing customers with a lower cost option to meet their power needs, remanufacturing keeps tons of the company’s product in use and out of landfills.

The process also requires 85 percent less energy than building a new engine. In many cases, remanufactured products today can be “up-cycled” to include design, emissions, fuel economy and quality upgrades. In 2016, Cummins sold about 17,000 remanufactured engines.

Approximately 25 employees – mostly engineers – will work in the new tech center, which will support all of Cummins' remanufacturing business globally. Previously that work has been done at other tech centers, plants or other facilities. The company has more than 20 technical centers around the world, some devoted to specific areas at Cummins and others that work with every business segment.

The center will house business-specific capabilities needed for remanufacturing, including core engineering, robotic and manual methods for additive manufacturing such as laser deposition, thermal spray and welding and capabilities for non-traditional remanufactured products like after-treatment and mechatronics – technology combining electronics and mechanical engineering.

These tools, combined with expertise in materials science and advanced manufacturing, enable Cummins to consistently make high-quality products that meet customer needs and reduce environmental impact.

Cummins leaders at the new center will work with the National Council for Science and Technology in Mexico, technical universities, government and external research and development centers and Cummins technical centers worldwide.

Blair Claflin is the Director of Sustainability Communications for Cummins Inc. Blair joined the Company in 2008 as the Diversity Communications Director. Blair comes from a newspaper background. He worked previously for the Indianapolis Star (2002-2008) and for the Des Moines Register (1997-2002) prior to that. blair.claflin@cummins.com

*Cummins received the highest ranking possible for its environmental and social performance from Institutional Shareholder Services (ISS), a key source of information for institutional investors. This is the first time ISS has reviewed companies on an environmental and social basis.

*Cummins was named one of the world’s Most Ethical Companies by the Ethisphere Institute, a leader in defining and advancing the standards of ethical business practices. This is the 11th consecutive year Cummins has made Ethisphere’s list.

The four announcements come just about a month after the company received three other honors for its environmental performance, its business practices and its management acumen.

Barron’s said its new list, which it plans to now do annually, comes as the investment world is increasingly defining success not just in terms of financial performance, but also whether an investment makes a positive contribution to society. Investments, it says, should do well and do good.

The magazine, through Calvert Research and Management, looked at 300 performance indicators in addition to financial performance, including everything from accounting practices and board structure to greenhouse gas emissions (GHG) and labor relations.

ISS also looked at more than 300 indicators in its review based on publicly available data. The website expanded its examination as “extra-financial factors play a heightened role in investment decision-making.” The service said adding the environmental and social evaluation to its governance appraisal gives a more balanced view of the risk of investing in a particular company.

While Ethisphere’s focus is on governance and business ethics, it, too, has expanded its survey over the years to include environmental and social factors. Companies must complete a lengthy survey for inclusion on the institute’s Most Ethical Companies list.

Forbes, meanwhile, noted that one study after another has shown companies work better with diverse teams. It worked with the research firm Statista to survey 30,000 employees to develop its Best Employers for Diversity list.

While it’s nice to win awards, Cummins believes its sustainable practices ultimately deliver better results for its customers. The company wants to help customers achieve their own sustainability goals, so they succeed today and well into the future, too.

Blair Claflin is the Director of Sustainability Communications for Cummins Inc. Blair joined the Company in 2008 as the Diversity Communications Director. Blair comes from a newspaper background. He worked previously for the Indianapolis Star (2002-2008) and for the Des Moines Register (1997-2002) prior to that. blair.claflin@cummins.com

“All of these issues were already prohibited in our company and supplier codes of conduct,” said Mark Sifferlen, Vice President – Ethics and Compliance. “But matters like human trafficking are so important we wanted to be absolutely clear where Cummins stands.”

The policy was finalized in December 2017 after nearly a year long review and was posted on the company’s website in January. In adopting it, Cummins joins many of the most highly ranked companies for sustainability.

“Respect for human rights is fundamental to the sustainability of Cummins and the communities in which we operate,” the policy states. “In our company and with our partners, we are committed to ensuring that people are treated with dignity and respect.”

The policy applies to Cummins entities across the globe in which the company has “a controlling ownership interest or management responsibility. This includes subsidiaries, joint ventures, affiliated companies and distributors.” If Cummins doesn’t have a controlling interest in a partner entity, it pledges to take steps to ensure the entity complies with all applicable human rights laws.

The company also commits to supply chain transparency, pledging to work with suppliers and partners in high risk locations to mitigate the risk of human trafficking and other human rights violations.

The new policy was guided by the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, the International Labor Organization’s Declaration on Fundamental Principles and Rights at Work, the United Nations Global Compact and the United Nations Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights.

Blair Claflin is the Director of Sustainability Communications for Cummins Inc. Blair joined the Company in 2008 as the Diversity Communications Director. Blair comes from a newspaper background. He worked previously for the Indianapolis Star (2002-2008) and for the Des Moines Register (1997-2002) prior to that. blair.claflin@cummins.com

The Newsweek ranking, released Dec. 7, assessed the environmental performance of the world’s largest publicly traded companies. Cummins was named “Best in Industry” in the “Machinery” category for U.S. companies.

The 2017 Green Ranking is built around six principles: Transparency, Objectivity, Public Availability of Data, Compatibility, Engagement and Stakeholder Input. The U.S. rankings assess the sustainability performance of the 500 largest publicly-traded companies headquartered in the U.S. by revenue as of Dec. 31, 2016.

“At Cummins, our mission calls for powering a more prosperous world,” said Brian Mormino, Executive Director of Worldwide Environmental Strategy and Compliance. “That requires a vibrant, healthy planet. Innovation for us means that we are environmentally responsible while dependably meeting the needs of our customers.”

The rankings looked at energy use, greenhouse gas emissions, water use, waste production and recycling, and other factors. Newsweek, a news magazine, produces the Green Ranking in partnership with Corporate Knights, a multi-faceted business known for its environmental and sustainability rankings, its research and its magazine, which it describes as the “magazine for clean capitalism.”

The top U.S. company in the ranking was Cisco Systems Inc. followed by Ecolab Inc. and Hasbro Inc.

The Just 100 list released Dec. 12, ranks the largest publicly-traded U.S. corporations in a number of areas deemed through polling as the most important to Americans.

Key issues in 2017 included employee wellbeing, customer treatment, environmental impact, job generation, transparency and more. This is the second year Forbes and JUST Capital have partnered to produce the list.

The top companies in the Just 100 are Intel, Texas Instruments and NVIDIA.

The Wall Street Journal’s inaugural Management Top 250, released Dec. 6, is a comprehensive guide examining how U.S. companies navigate complex business environments, "serving their workers, customers and shareholders."

It is based on rankings by the Drucker Institute, which looks at corporate performance in five areas: Customer Satisfaction, Employee Engagement and Development, Innovation, Social Responsibility, and Financial Strength.

Cummins received four out of five stars in Employee Engagement and Development, and Social Responsibility. The top ranking company in the survey was Amazon.com Inc., followed by Apple Inc. and Alphabet Inc.

In still another rating released earlier this fall, Cummins received a perfect score of 100 percent on the 2018 Corporate Equality Index (CEI) for the thirteenth straight year. The CEI, conducted in 2017, is a national benchmarking survey and report on corporate policies and practices related to lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer (LGBTQ) workplace equality, administered by the Human Rights Campaign Foundation.

Cummins joined the ranks of 609 major U.S. businesses which also earned top marks this year.

Blair Claflin is the Director of Sustainability Communications for Cummins Inc. Blair joined the Company in 2008 as the Diversity Communications Director. Blair comes from a newspaper background. He worked previously for the Indianapolis Star (2002-2008) and for the Des Moines Register (1997-2002) prior to that. blair.claflin@cummins.com

Cummins CEO supports NAFTA in interview with POLITICO

Cummins Chairman and CEO Tom Linebarger says NAFTA means thousands of jobs for American workers at locations such as the company’s engine plant in Jamestown, New York.

Cummins Chairman and CEO Tom Linebarger said in an interview with POLITICO that the benefits to business of the tax cuts recently passed by the U.S. House and Senate could be offset by losses if President Trump pulls the country out of the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA).

“I’m excited about the growth that could come from tax reform, and I think that withdrawing from NAFTA could have the exact opposite effect and essentially undo the benefits,” Linebarger, told POLITICO in an article appearing Wednesday (Dec. 6, 2017).

Linebarger, chairman of the Business Roundtable’s International Engagement Committee, strongly supports NAFTA, maintaining international trade means jobs for American workers.

Linebarger said the United States is a much less attractive place to invest if the country withdraws from NAFTA.

“Not only would terminating NAFTA worsen the position of the U.S., but it causes multinational companies like mine to figure what’s the best way to position yourself for a world without NAFTA, which might mean changing manufacturing locations,” Linebarger told POLITICO. “Mexico has 44 free trade agreements. The U.S. has free trade agreements with 20 countries. So the very best way to sell to everybody else is to be in Mexico.”

Blair Claflin is the Director of Sustainability Communications for Cummins Inc. Blair joined the Company in 2008 as the Diversity Communications Director. Blair comes from a newspaper background. He worked previously for the Indianapolis Star (2002-2008) and for the Des Moines Register (1997-2002) prior to that. blair.claflin@cummins.com